SGBA14 Notes Day 1: How to Pay Attention in Important Meetings

Â I. has no clear solutions, also struggles with ithis and has people take notes for her.

Â J. has attended a lot of unimportant meetings in which the discussion doesn’t pertain to her. She has developed the habit of not being engaged. It’s easy to do other work in that situation. She makes it an active game to find something valuable.

Â I. knows someone who knits during meetings to stay focused.

Â K. finds it very helpful to be the note taker. It holds you accountable. She is less careful when the notes aren’t going to be distributed, but she still does better than when she takes no notes

R. does other work during remote meetings when she’s at home.

I. and J. have the same experience. J. comes to campus to focus, since a day at home turns into a day of errands.

K. took out a membership at the Hacker /Dojo for this reason. K. and J. find that when they work at home, they “have time” in the eyes of family members; J. finds herself doing it to others as well.

K. is more productive at home because of the heavy load of meetings (as many as six per day) on campus.

J. pointed out that back to back meetings encourage “multi-tasking” because there is less opportunity to get real work done.

K. said “It’s 5 o’clock – yay, I can start working!”

R. asked “What do you do to avoid getting distracted at a day long meeting?

K. answered to set boundaries for yourself. Only check your phone at the top of the hour. Make sure the people who may ping you know about your boundaries and that they need to wait.

Â J. pointed out a restaurant practice: everyone puts their phone in the middle of the table face down. The first person who picks up their phone buys a round. This works by public shaming and accountability.

R. asked “Have you heard of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People?”

Some attendees had, and some have had trouble implementing the habits.

Someone asked, “Have you ever said no to a meeting?”

J. answered that sometimes the meeting is a tick mark — you have to officially show up, even if it will not be productive. At Microsoft, calendar management is where it’s at. Sometimes she logs into a meeting because she’s a part of the team, even though she works on different things than the rest of the attendees and the conversation revolves around their work. She notes that there is no easy solution.

K. says to promise yourself a reward at the end if, in your notes, you hit every point in the (meeting) outline, etc.

Â K. points out that focus is a practicable skill; it becomes easier over time.

K. says to find a way to engage, for example, by asking a question.

Sit up front. You can be seen, and the speaker is closer to you.

R. asks “How do we keep meetings running according to the agenda?”

Karen answers that If you’ve called the meeting, it’s your job to steer the discussion. It can be challenging when an attendee tends to go off on tangents. Everyone tends to appreciate it – except the speaker.

There was also a long discussion on the mechanics and value of Toastmasters in learning to focus.

If you can’t focus or add to the meeting, it’s often better for all involved if you leave and spend the time more productively. It’s not good to join a second meeting late, especially if there’s transit time between the two. Always try to glean some value from the situation.